Everything posted by bolverk
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Downtown Projects
Jesus Christ, man. Did you read the article? Basically, the UT planning team has determined that the Erwin site is too small for the project, including any future expansion plans. The tone of the article's text seemed to indicate that UT now wants to go bigger than anticipated. But you're absolutely right, municipal zoning doesn't affect shit that the State builds. So, by that logic, the State could've said, "Fuck you, City of Austin, we're building it there anyway," which then would negate any need by the State to build up north. But, get this, the City was all-in on that quadrant of downtown being a big medical/technology/research district with extensive planning for the last decade, so I'm pretty sure the City isn't exactly pleased about this move. I'm guessing you've got a bone to pick with the City Codes and P&Z Department, probably with plenty of justification, because they're not known for being the most efficient. That said, nothing in the article indicates that the City did anything to fuck this up.
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Texas Primaries
- Thread of good things in the world today
Astronomers spot one of the largest spinning structures in the universe This enormous chain of hundreds of galaxies—a cosmic filament—is twisting through space 400 million light-years away The first time that University of Oxford astronomer Lyla Jung saw the cosmic configuration on her monitor, she almost didn’t believe it was real. But it was—and Jung and her colleagues went on to identify one of the largest rotating structures ever found in space: a chain of galaxies embedded in a spinning cosmic filament 400 million light-years from Earth. The finding, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, may give astronomers new insights into galaxies’ formation, evolution and diversity, Jung says. Galaxies are not positioned either randomly or uniformly in the universe; instead they are connected in structures called filaments that link them, together with dark matter, across space. Along with voids—empty spaces that contain very little matter—and groups of hundreds of thousands of galaxies known as clusters, filaments form what astronomers call the cosmic web. These filaments are the main channels through which matter flows, feeding galaxies and clusters as structures expand. “By studying filaments, we gain insight into how large-scale structure forms and how galaxies acquire their spins,” says astrophysicist Peng Wang of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, who was not involved in the new study. In 2021 Wang and his colleagues reported that based on calculations and satellite imagery, several filaments seemed to be rotating. The new study takes a closer look at one of these structures. Using data from the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, which was helping to map cold hydrogen gas in nearby galaxies, Jung’s team found 14 hydrogen-rich galaxies arranged in a thin, 5.5-million-light-year-long structure. That structure was embedded within a filament 50 million light-years long that contains more than 280 galaxies. The researchers observed that many of the individual galaxies MeerKAT detected were spinning—and, to their surprise, they also found that the entire filament, including the rest of its galaxies, appeared to be rotating in sync with that spin at a speed of about 110 kilometers per second, something astronomers hadn’t seen before. “I started doubting if it was real or if I did something wrong in the analysis,” Jung says. Detecting this phenomenon “is exceptional,” Wang adds, because the observation signal is faint, and overlapping objects along the line of sight can muddy the picture without very careful data collection and modeling. In later analyses, Jung and her team found that the filament is probably still taking on more material. Many of its galaxies seem to be in the early stages of growth, she says, because they appear rich in the hydrogen that provides fuel for new stars. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence for the existence of dark matter comes from measurements of galaxies’ rotation. Studying the rotation of filaments could also reveal how much dark matter is in them, says astronomer Noam Libeskind of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam in Germany, who was not involved in the study. By revealing what portion of the universe exists in these filaments, Libeskind says, this study and future ones like it offer “a way of measuring the dark matter content of the universe.”- ICE activity/raids
Doesn't sound like we'll be getting that "fair and thorough investigation." Does it, @Texasborn91? Man, you were just soooo convinced.- Trump’s America
FINALLY! Someone spells it correctly. Edit: He spelled 'phenomenol' like how old Anglos say Chipotle, but the best way to remember how he spelled it is to remember how to pronounce Chipotle correctly: fee-no-min-lay.- The Climate thread
- Apple TV+
"Eterinity" is a pretty good flick. Stars Elizabeth Olsen and a couple of guys I've seen in other stuf. More or less, it's kind of a bittersweet, darkish comedy about the afterlife, and well, what we do with our lives. The older version of Olsen in this movie is Big Spring-born, Fort Worth-bred Betty Buckley, which is cool. On the surface, it might seem cool for a date night with the spouse, but you've got to be pretty confident to not be giving each other the side-eye throughout.- Dark Winds AMC
If you've got Netflix, the full series is available there. Pretty good show that I binged for about a month this summer. Definitely has a strong "network TV" vibe, though.- ICE activity/raids
So, I don't know how fascist forms of government got the reputation for being efficient, functioning machines, but apparently, American engineering isn't up for the fascist task.- Pam Bondi is a dumbass
- Jeffrey Epstein needs his own thread
Oh shit, that's right. You're in Illinois now, where getting high is totally A-OKAY! See? There's some justice in this fucking world, just not in Texas. Yet. We gotta keep the faith and keep fighting. Also, go easy on the weed heads and the downtrodden, in general.- Dog Killer, Kristi Noem
Really digging the new thread title @Gil Bang, but you missed the opportunity for the KKK as a chef's kiss.- Jeffrey Epstein needs his own thread
It's a bit of a philosophical question, isn't it? Personally, I haven't lost faith in humanity. We're the same stupid, greedy creatures we've always been. But, we've also had a bunch of good in us, some obviously more than others. Most, I believe, are born okay, but some have shit thrust upon them at criticual juncture, and they become bad (i.e., lose faith). Some are born saints, and some are born to be sinners. I'm not a psychologist, so I'm not one to judge how someone gets a point, but I will judge you for where you are now. I'll be straight up with you, Constant. The only reason I'm waxing poetic about this subject at this moment before I wind down is that I'm talking to a Law Man. You know? It kinda behooves you to NOT lose your faith in humanity, because I believe you're one of the good ones. And I don't want to see a good man go astray and see folks going through shit as anything other than humans who deserve pity in the biblical sense. No, that wasn't an allusion to sexual pornification, you perverts! There's a quote I heard in undergrad 30+ years ago that's stuck with me: "Remember your humanity, and forget the rest." The only thing I'd add to that quote above is to remember the humanity in others, which seems like an important reminder for someone who regularly is forced to see the worst in others. Where was I going with all this? Well, fuck it, we have to keep trying. If we lose that faith, then what's the fucking point in all this? What's the purpose of "order" without the law, and I mean capital 'L' law. That kind of Law means shit that's deserving of respect and agreed to "by the People." Unfortunately, many of us have lost respect for the law, because it no longer appears to be in the business of protecting The People but more concerned with protecting The Rich, and all of their special interests, business-wise, politics-wise, morality-wise, corruption-wise, control-wise. Ya dig what I'm saying? I haven't taken any criminology courses, but I'm betting a ton of common street thugs are essentially nihilistic, libertarian anarchists at heart. Basically, "Fuck you all; I'm getting mine!" BECAUSE they've lost faith in everything, because it's all fucking rigged. And, mind you, this is coming from a privileged white guy with blondish hair and blue eyes, okay athlete in my day, well-educated, stable home, went to the "right church," National Honor Society, never been arrested, graduated magna cum laude, went to grad school, got married, had a kid, bought a home, etc. I mean, if I, of all people, am feeling this radicalized about shit, what the fuck does that say about the state of things, writ large? So, yeah, you're feeling like there's no justice in this world. Me, too. So do all those you encounter. BUT the important thing is that bringing justice, real justice, meaning the greater American dream found in our Declaration of Independence, that "all men are created equal" who have "inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS." So, go light on the weed business, por favor.- 2026 Celebrity Death Watch Pool
It fucking sucks that we cut the budgets for the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute last year, including a roughly 30% decrease in cancer research funding. These cuts totaled in the billions and led to the termination of thousands of NIH grants and the end of hundreds of ongoing clinical trials. So, yeah, fuck cancer, but fuck those people who are making the problem worse even more.- Pam Bondi is a dumbass
I'm not sure if I ever heard her voice before, especially in any length, but she sounds a lot like Parker Posey’s character in White Lotus. Kept waiting for Lorazepam Bondi to pop a pill while flipping through her little burn book.- ICE activity/raids
They're eating the dogs; they're eating the cats.- Jeffrey Epstein needs his own thread
I'm trying to put together a list of turds from Trump World with ties to Epstein, according to the files: Trump, hisself Melania Steve Banon Peter Thiel Howard Lutnick Elon Musk RFK, Jr. Dr. Oz Anyone missing?- The Sound of Freedom
Sorry for the necrobump, but I'm curious if any of you who had family, friends, or coworkers who gushed over this movie and fretted so much about child trafficking have discussed any of the new Trump/Epstein file revelations with them and whether any of them are now taking their ire out on this regime. - Thread of good things in the world today
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